Liability issue regarding additional costs of a planning favor

  • Erstellt am 2018-05-28 11:12:46

Changeling

2018-05-28 11:12:46
  • #1
We need to have a construction site access road built; without it, no construction vehicle can enter the property (difficult terrain; the access road will later also serve as the path to the house). This access road is not included in the contract with our general contractor [GÜ], so we have to build it entirely ourselves. However, support has been promised to us. The [GÜ] created a plan, based on which a tender was made and a company was commissioned to submit an offer. We awarded the contract accordingly.

It has now become apparent that various things were not taken into account: obstacles lying on the path such as trees, a piece of wall, a gas line, ... were missing in the plan/tender, and moreover, the soil is Z2, i.e., it must be disposed of expensively – the tender stated Z0, which means harmless soil masses. Meanwhile, the road construction is twice as expensive as initially estimated by the [GÜ]. We have a construction delay of one month and additional costs of €10,000 to €20,000 (not everything has been fully estimated yet). At least the delay and about €5,000 of that could have been avoided through proper planning; the rest would probably have arisen anyway – but it could, for example, have been financed from the start instead of having to refinance expensively now.

The planner from the [GÜ] obviously planned incorrectly and overlooked various things, but is not bound by any contract. We also said nothing because, on the one hand, we assumed the planner knew what he was doing, and on the other hand, at that time, we had no knowledge about soil conditions, etc. This raises the question for me: who is liable here? Can the planner or the [GÜ] still be held accountable?

If yes – can I wait with this until the house is finished? A friend said that the surest way to achieve a construction stop is through legal action... and I want to avoid that.
 

Nordlys

2018-05-28 11:37:01
  • #2
No. This is "can happen". The facts of the ground etc. are just as they are, no matter who plans how. and you accepted a favor, otherwise you would have had to do it yourself. That's just how it is... those who are not experts are simply at the mercy of the professionals.
 

HilfeHilfe

2018-05-29 06:55:35
  • #3
Why did the GÜ not complete it in the end. Those who save in the wrong place...
 

Changeling

2018-05-29 08:02:22
  • #4
I don’t quite understand what is meant by that. In any case, the GÜ deliberately did not include that in his contract, probably because he knew that it would turn out very differently than estimated.
 

toxicmolotof

2018-05-29 08:15:04
  • #5


Can you prove that as well? Or is that just an assumption? Being right or actually getting your way can sometimes differ, and I can't even assess whether you are actually right.

As for the soil class and disposal. Those will probably be sunk costs. Because whether well or poorly planned, known or unknown, you would have had to bear the costs anyway.

And who is the client? You, I assume. Then you do know if there is a tree on the property and where a gas line runs, right?

What I still don't understand: what exactly do you expect from whom? And why?
 

Changeling

2018-05-29 08:31:49
  • #6

Are you really sure about that, or is it more of a gut feeling? I tend to rather hold the planner liable, because:



For example, the cover of the gas line was obviously visible and had already been acknowledged by the planner on site. That already strikes me as gross negligence (or also “sloppiness”), because from someone who deals with house construction daily, I expect something different!


As already said — probably.


As I said, about 5000€ could have been avoided by proper planning; the rest are, as you say, “unavoidable costs” (which, however, can now cause additional expenses due to more expensive refinancing).


The gas line is not mine and is not on my property, and lies about 30cm into the driveway (that’s correct, please no further inquiries about that ;-) ). Since it didn’t appear on the plan, I assumed the driveway would go past it. If a professional plans that, you should be able to assume the plan has substance. Because as it is now, I could have actually planned it myself!
I had classified the trees under the earthworks for the driveway until I was informed otherwise. Ignorance doesn’t protect against costs...


The question is at the bottom of the first post: whether I can hold the general planner liable, in other words, whether I can make him bear the costs that would not have occurred with proper planning. So the 5000€ plus whatever else comes up.
 

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